CNN – Business/Consumer

By Alicia Wallace, CNN The US economy is confusing: Jobs are surging. Inflation has been cooling but still running relatively hot. Gas prices are on the rebound. Consumers keep spending, and their confidence is growing. But holiday sales were tepid. Corporate layoffs are mounting. Company earnings aren’t stellar. And mortgage rates are ticking higher. In

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against Paramount Friday, claiming the rival media company breached its half-billion-dollar exclusivity contract with HBO Max by airing “South Park” on its own streaming platform, Paramount+. HBO Max is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns CNN. Nearly all “South Park” episodes air

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said price caps on Russian energy should be stiffened up to maximize the impact of sanctions on the country as the war in Ukraine hits a year. The former Harvard University president said on Fareed Zakaria GPS Sunday, economic sanctions on Russia haven’t bitten hard because

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN There have been many questions raised about the implications and reach of a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board to prohibit employers from requiring laid off workers to sign certain types of non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses if they want to receive severance. Who’s covered by it? Is it retroactive?

By Nicole Goodkind, CNN The possibility of a 2023 market rally ground to a halt last week amid an onslaught of unfortunate inflation and economic data that spooked investors and increased the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will continue its economically painful rate hikes campaign for longer than Wall Street hoped. All major indexes notched

by Oliver Darcy, CNN Newspapers across the country dropped the “Dilbert” comic strip over the weekend after the creator of the satirical cartoon went on a racist tirade, calling Black Americans a “hate group” and suggesting that White people should “get the hell away” from them. The USA Today Network, which operates hundreds of newspapers,

By Chris Isidore, CNN For Ukraine, the year since Russia’s invasion has been one of widespread death, destruction and displacement, as millions had their lives changed forever. Americans got off easy by comparison, with most feeling the impact of the war only at the gas pump. But the effect on Americans was far less than

By Morgan Stephens, CNN Pushing through cognitive impairment, migraines and severe fatigue, Michaelene Carlton, 49, mustered up the energy last week to dial the Social Security Administration to speak to her newly appointed Social Security Disability Insurance case manager. She has left six messages, one every two weeks since late December, and she still hasn’t

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN It’s never been easy to operate a restaurant, and in recent years it’s been even harder. In 2020, Covid restrictions ground the nation’s bustling restaurant industry to a halt. Since then, there have been significant signs of a rebound: Dining rooms have reopened and customers have returned to cafes, fine-dining establishments

By Anna Bahney, CNN New home sales rose in January from December, as mortgage rates eased off their highs of the past year at the start of 2023. Sales of newly constructed homes were up 7.2% in January from December, but fell 19.4% from a year ago, according to a joint report from the US

By Alicia Wallace, CNN The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge heated up unexpectedly in January, as did consumer spending, showing the continued strength of the US economy — and that rising prices won’t be so easily defeated. Inflation picked up speed in January as the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 5.4% from a year

By Brian Fung, CNN Justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court asked this week what may be, to millions of average internet users, the most relatable question to come out of a pair of high-stakes oral arguments about the future of social media. “Would Google collapse, and the internet be destroyed,” Alito asked a